Two Weeks of Searching, Countless Hours of Hope: Search Enters Another Critical Week as Authorities Continue the Hunt for Ja’Derrius Minnieweather’s Remains at North Landfill
BATON ROUGE — It’s now the end of the second week officials have spent searching a portion of the North Landfill for Ja’Derrius Minnieweather. Minnieweather, 15, was declared a missing person after he was last seen on June 5.
Police believe 15-year-old Minnieweather was murdered on June 5 and his body hidden in a trash can that was picked up and its contents delivered to the landfill shortly after his death.
Police and volunteers searched widely for Minnieweather in the days after his family reported him missing. That search continues with several law enforcement agencies and entities in the field, including FBI, Baton Rouge Police Department, Baton Rouge Fire Department, Acadian Ambulance, EMTs, State Police, and more. Some people have come from as far away as Tennessee.
Because it’s still an open investigation, each piece of debris that is searched is carefully inspected and documented, says Josh Gill, United Cajun Navy incident commander. Using drones and electronic gridding, officials are able to see every inch of the process and debris that is removed for inspection.
They won’t be searching the whole landfill. Investigators believe they have identified the specific truck that picked up Minnieweather’s body and they know from GPS fairly specifically where that truck dumped its load that day at that time, according to officials. Their search area covers a little more than half an acre on site.
Every scoop of landfill debris is marked geographically before it goes into a truck. The debris is then taken from the truck and spread out by an excavator where it is then gone through and searched by hand.
Due to the extreme heat and concerns of toxic fumes, those searching take small shifts before swapping out and breaking for hydration and food. Gill said searchers are clad in head-to-toe PPE, including gloves, respirators, and boot covers.
Environmental factors will continue to play a large role in recovering Minnieweather’s remains, but Gill is confident in the expertise of the agencies leading the search.
After being on-site, Gill said he spoke with multiple people in the camp area who all spoke Ja’Derrius’ name. “And they all said his name, Ja’Derrius Minnieweather. So they know they’re not just looking for a bone or a body or a piece of clothing. They know the name of the person they’re looking for, which means a lot. It means a lot to me. That means a lot to the family.”
